“Here comes Big Bad Bunny. He’s coming to take your money!” Indubitably destined to become an instant read-aloud favorite, this rampaging rabbit will have young children raising their hands in glee. One big scowl between his broad sombrero and twin carrots in jeweled holsters, Big Bad Bunny’s after money—but will take what he can get, even if it’s only a handful of corn or a little milk. “Is no one safe from Big Bad Bunny?” Leave it to Wise Old Bunny the bank teller who, confronted by the carrot-waving bandit, calmly buries him in heavy bags of coins until he promises to return all of his ill-gotten gains. Parker-Rees places his tubby troublemaker in an oversized western setting populated by smaller, meeker wildlife. In the end, a bully reformed, “Quite Good Bunny” revisits the scene of his crimes by popping out of a giant pie, livening up a dull evening meal. Big Bad Bunny is very, very funny. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-525-46667-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2000
Although entertaining and fast-paced, there is nothing to elevate this effort above a crowded field.
The spunky, smart, but fictional Hilde who cracks a string of pastry thefts before the evening deadline is modeled after a real Hilde—the co-author—who runs her own newspaper.
Each crime—a stolen cherry pie, missing lemon cupcakes, eggs taken from under the hens, a broken cookie jar, a list of bake-off contestants that has disappeared—includes a clue that perceptive Hilde, in the quest of a good story, is sure to recognize. Aided by her sister, Izzy, the staff photographer, Hilde gamely moves from one crime to the next, calming irate adults as she eventually connects the dots just in the nick of time. Lew-Vriethoff’s attractive illustrations (many of which were just sketches at the time of review) are liberally sprinkled throughout the brief text, appearing on nearly every page. Hilde (and almost everyone else illustrated) is depicted as white. Her notes are included throughout; later a compilation is displayed. Unfortunately for fellow sleuths, the true perpetrator, although hinted at previously, isn’t included among Hilde’s list of potential thieves, making it hard to solve the crime ahead of the reporter herself. Although character development is lacking, it’s the investigation that’s the centerpiece of the tale, the first in a new series for emergent chapter-book readers.
Although entertaining and fast-paced, there is nothing to elevate this effort above a crowded field. (Fiction. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-338-14156-6
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Branches/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 4, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
A sincere but sometimes-treacly paean to books and their myriad pleasures.
Can inanimate objects become friends?
When the objects are books, the answer is yes! Veronica’s schoolmates dismiss her as “a richy-rich snob” because she “talked of many fine things, / like operas and oysters and gleaming gold rings.” It is not until Veronica invites them home that the other kids realize that V.V.’s pretentious manner is inspired by what she’s read. Her house is falling apart, but it’s filled with books. She makes good on her invitation: “I’ll gleefully give you a round-the-world trip.” There is a double-page spread with Boston ducklings, peaceful Spanish Ferdinand, and French Madeline. The diverse group of friends (Veronica is white with lush, red hair) soon embraces her, listening politely as Veronica preaches about books: “they’re my playmates, my pals, / my companions, my buddies.” When Veronica sorrowfully finishes her last book, the other kids bring her to a new place, the public library. The verse occasionally cloys: “Veronica Veetch was a curious girl, / from the size of her teeth to the swirl of her curl.” The six line-and-color friends appear in the foreground in full color, with shadowy, detailed monochrome drawings of the books’ subject matter in the background; the overall effect can be hard to parse and limits the book’s use as a read-aloud. Veronica’s library is not as diverse as her friends—titles referenced tend toward the “classics.”
A sincere but sometimes-treacly paean to books and their myriad pleasures. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-934649-27-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bailiwick Press
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
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